059 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Retro Grade Podcast

“LOOKS LIKE MEAT’S BACK ON THE MENU!“

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast we talk about the second Peter Jackson live-action adaptation of The Lord of the Rings series, We are joined once again by our resident LOTR expert Becky to help us talk about why this film series changed the fantasy genre forever.

We talk about how this film splits the fellowship and takes our various heroes on their own journeys, fighting against the ethereal evil of Sauron. Delivering the ring to Mount Doom, defending the Rohan against the orc hordes, or recruiting more to join the cause, the ensemble cast really gets to come into their own in this film, and establish themselves as individual characters we can still relate to 20 years later. Speaking of characters, we talk about what makes Gollum at the top of many lists as one of the greatest CGI characters of all time. Not only do we get an amazing physical and vocal performance from Andy Serkis gave but also talk about the amazing work of the visual effects team at WETA Digital, and go through a brief history in the world of motion capture.

The Battle of Helm’s Deep is the big, climactic set piece in the film and probably the most iconic castle siege in film history. We talk about the months it took to film the scene, the way it is lit so that we can actually see the battle at night, and how the beats of the action walk the line of being an enjoyable action sequence, but also a commentary on the cost of war.

The allegory comes in heavy in The Two Towers, possibly more so here than in The Fellowship of The Ring. As we watch films, sometimes to get the most out of that experience we have to think about what the film is trying to say. When Sarumon says he wants “the old world to burn in the fires of industry,” maybe Tolkien wasn’t just talking about the old world of Middle-Earth. Maybe the reason these stories held up so well to be written as books and shared between generations and turned into films and now television series is because they are a reflection of real world concerns through a fantastical lens of dwarves, elves, wizards and orcs. And in this fantasy world, there is hope that’s worth fighting for, so maybe ours is too.

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o